Need motivation to get back to your New Year's diet resolutions? Pick up the 2009 edition of The Cooper Clinic Solution to the Diet Revolution (Good Health Press, $34.95) by Georgia Kostas, former director of nutrition of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas. First published in 2001, the yearly updates provide current information on dieting.

Top tip: Plan ahead to prevent impulse eating, portion your food and pace yourself by slowing down and eating less. Focusing on the cues that cause you to overeat can help maintain your weight loss.

Do you have a recipe worth $1 million?

Start your mixers. The 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off will take place April 11-13, 2010, in Orlando, but the deadline to enter is a few months away.

The rules tend to change a bit from Bake-Off to Bake-Off, and this time around is no exception. This year, contestants must enter online (deadline: April 20) after registering at the pillsbury.com Web site. Recipes have to fit one of these four categories: Breakfast and Brunches; Entertaining Appetizers; Dinner Made Easy; Sweet Treats.

Further, the recipes have to use two ingredients from a long list, with one of them being a core Pillsbury product such as pie crust, biscuits, pizza crust or flour. The second ingredient can come from the long list of sponsor products, which includes Hershey chocolate, Smucker's ice cream toppings and Jif peanut butter.

Go to www.pillsbury.com for details.

Yes, you can refreeze thawed meat safely

Sometimes we buy meat that's already thawed and wonder if it can be refrozen. If the meat still has ice crystals and was kept chilled, it can be safely refrozen.

However, it may lose quality.

For instance, if it isn't wrapped well, it could develop freezer burn or get off flavors. The texture may suffer. Frozen foods usually get soft and release their liquid when they're thawed. Since meat softens when you cook it, you usually don't notice, but if the meat has been frozen twice, it may seem mushier.

Another 100-calorie pack for snacking

If you are familiar with General Mills' various Chex Mixes, you might be interested in Chex 100-calorie packs.